Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

'' (tribe) on the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Its ''

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ''rohe'' to describe the territory or boundaries of ''iwi'' (tribes), although some divide their rohe into several ''takiwā''. The areas shown on the map (right) are indicative only, and some iwi ...

'' (tribal area) covers the area from Tawhiti-a-Paoa

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a- ...

to Te Toka-a-Taiau Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of

. Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti comprises over fifty hapu: from Te Whanau-a-Te Aotawarirangi the northern hapu Tokomaru Bay to Ngati Oneone the southern hapu Gisborne. Many can trace their ''

whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

'' (ancestry) back to Takitimu and Horouta ''

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

'' (migration canoes) that arrived in Tairawhiti, and back to the famous ancestor

Paikea is a notable ancestor who originated in Hawaiki according to Māori tradition. He is particularly known to tribes with origins in the Gisborne District such as , and . is the name assumed by because he was assisted by a whale to survive an at ...

. However, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti trace their whakapapa from Rongomaituaho, grandson of Uenuku and son of Kahutiaterangi, who captained the Tereanini waka.

History

Early history

About the 16th century, following major political and social upheavals between the three brothers Taua-Ariki, Mahaki-Ewe-Karoro and Hauiti, Hauiti eventually stamped his mana over Uawa (Tolaga Bay) as it is known to many local inhabitants; hence the title of the major tribal group in this area ''Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti'', meaning the descendants of Hauiti. Local hapu and the Hauiti ariki Whakatataare-o-te-rangi encountered the British explorer Captain James Cook in 1769; including Tupaia the Tahitian who accompanied Cook on his voyage around the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. According to tribal tradition, Hauiti ariki

Te Kani-a-Takirau Te Kani-a-Takirau ( 1790s – 1856) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with Hapu Matua of the Te Aitanga A Hauiti Iwi. He was born in on the East Coast of New Zealand. He is well known for having refu ...

was offered in 1854 the Kingite Crown, but he declined the offer.

Modern history

One of Te Aitanga a Hauiti's more famous modern ''

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

'' (meeting places) steeped in Māori history is Te Poho-o-Rawiri of Ngati Oneone situated in Gisborne. The origins of

Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori ''iwi'' of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngati Kaipoho, Ngai Tawhiri and Ngati Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend fro ...

, the eponymous ancestor, is traced to the area occupied by Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Hauiti married the daughter of Rongowhakaata named Kahukura-iti. Titirangi Maunga is the tribe's ''maunga'' (revered mountain), holds a similar name as Titirangi Maunga (Kaiti Hill) in Gisborne. Uawa-nui-a-Ruamatua, dividing the township

Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay ( mi, Uawa) is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around the bay is rugged and remote, and for many ...

and Hauiti, is the tribe's ''awa'' (sacred river).

Notable people

Notable members of the tribe include: *

Parekura Horomia Parekura Tureia Horomia (9 November 1950 – 29 April 2013) was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Māori Affairs between 2000 and 2008. Early life Horomia was born in Tolaga Bay of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga Hauiti, ...

– politician *

Robyn Kahukiwa Robyn Kahukiwa (born 1938) is an Australian-born New Zealand artist, award-winning children's book author, and illustrator. Kahukiwa has created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures. Life Kahukiwa was b ...

– artist *

Harry Ngata Heremaia "Harry" Ngata (born 24 August 1971) is a former New Zealand association football player who played as a midfielder. Club career Ngata began his career with Hull City in England, and may have been the first Maori footballer to play in t ...

– association footballer * Waimarama Taumaunu – netballer * John Walsh – artist

References

{{Authority control Gisborne District

History

Early history

Modern history

Notable people

See also

References